Lawmakers Agree to Details of Smallest Budget Since the Bush Administration

Date: January 14, 2014

The bipartisan deal would take a government shutdown off the table

On late Monday night, a bipartisan group of
lawmakers announced they had reached a compromise proposal on budget details.
The spending bill comes in time to prevent another government shutdown and
would ease some cuts to programs such as medical research and job training,
while still keeping spending at the $1.01 trillion level agreed in December.
The Washington Post quoted Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), a member of the House
Appropriations Committee, as saying he thought the proposal would receive
enough support to pass, pointing out that the agreement is “$164 billion less
than Bush’s last discretionary budget, so that’s pretty good progress in
cutting spending.”

What this means for business:

It signals more predictability in the budget
process than has been evident in recent years. If it passes both chambers of
Congress, it will take a government shutdown off the table until September 30.
The trade-offs inside the bill – for example, boosted funding for early
childhood education and the military, offset by reductions elsewhere – also
suggest the scorched earth approach to lawmaking that characterized the last
several years may be giving way to a more traditional negotiation/compromise
model of legislating.

Next steps:

The budget will be considered this week and
is believed to be reasonably likely to pass.

Further reading:

The Wall Street Journal,
Politico, the Washington
Post, and Bloomberg
News all
provide more details on the agreement.This news article is intended to keep small business
owners apprised of current events that may affect them. It does not necessarily
reflect NFIB’s policy position on such issues.